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Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos fibers and asbestos dust. When asbestos is mined, manufactured and used, lots of asbestos dust is released. Mesothelioma spells ‘Death’.

UK was the first county to ban asbestos. One of the countries to wake up very late was Japan. The immediate monetary gains made Japan blind to the future harmful effects of asbestos. Japan neglected public health completely and it was only in 2002 that Japan imposed a complete ban on all types of asbestos. Japan is the World’s second biggest economy. Smoking coupled with asbestos exposure increases the chances of contracting mesothelioma.

Japan started using asbestos in the late 19th century. Even then Japan did not mine any asbestos. It only imported asbestos. Only during the World War II, Japan did not import asbestos. The import of asbestos was ever increasing in Japan during the period 1960 – 1980. The highest skyrocketing quantity of asbestos import in Japan was 352160 tons in 1974.

After this, Japan started to slowly wake up to the harmful effects of asbestos. One by one, each type of asbestos was banned. In 1988, blue asbestos was first banned. After that in 1993, brown asbestos was banned. In 1960, the first case of lung cancer due to asbestos exposure was recorded in Japan. Also, the first case of mesothelioma in Japan was recorded in the year 1973. Around 6 people die every year per million populations in Japan due to mesothelioma.

Japan’s Late Action Against Mesothelioma

It is very popular in Japan .